The winners in business have shifted markedly in the past decade—and the keys to success are likely to be very different again in ten years’ time. How should leaders prepare their companies to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape? What will it take to win the '20s?

Change Management

Create a Winning Program by Focusing on the Factors That Matter

The business world today is facing a new reality, one of economic unpredictability, disruptive technology, globalization, and unprecedentedly fierce competition. In such an environment, the traditional ways of achieving a competitive advantage—such as scale and proprietary assets—are no longer enough. The ability of a company to address these new realities, adapt to the changing conditions, and deliver bold change is increasingly critical to gain competitive advantage. That means more comprehensive—and more frequent—change programs. Many boards have appointed CEOs and senior executives with that explicit mandate, and almost all leaders recognize the need to take even successful enterprises to new levels of performance.

Despite all the investments, organizational change initiatives have a spotty record (evidence indicates that 50% of change programs fail to achieve their objectives; the failure rate increases to 75% for more complex programs). Indeed, the traditional approach to change management is itself in need of change.

And executives need to understand the stumbling blocks that cause transformation efforts to fail. In global surveys, two factors are increasingly recognized as the leading causes of failure:

A lack of clearly defined milestones and objectives to gauge progress

Insufficient commitment by senior management

Success requires overcoming these challenges head-on, through a comprehensive and structured change effort that includes the right mix of processes, governance, metrics, and behaviors.

Moreover, building superior and lasting change capabilities has become a competitive advantage. Companies that are ready, willing, and able to face the challenges of change initiatives are better equipped to manage new changes over time.

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A lack of clearly defined milestones and a lack of or insufficient commitment by senior management have increasingly become recognized as the leading causes of failed change initiatives.

Active leadership, speed, employee inclusion, and behavioral change are all imperatives in change management today. Learn how to implement them and make change stick by exploring BCG’s latest thinking.

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